Twitter

[Stupot]

Who here has a Twitter account?
Do you use it?  Do you find it useful, or just another bandwagon that'll soon disappear up the lane?
I've recently made an account, and I find it interesting to follow certain people, but I don't personally have much to offer, myself.

If anyone wants to follow me, I'm StuartForbes

I'm already following a handful of AGSers and some other adventure game related folks  it's quite fun at the moment, but I can't help feeling the novelty will wear off soon.

Use this thread either to share your username so we can follow you, or just to discuss pros and cons of Twitter.

[Anian]

I'm not saying anything directly to you, so please don't get offended. Twitter should be used like blogs should be used - by smart and/or important and/or famous people. I mean if people want their emotions out, then they should write a diary, shouldn't they?
But I guess "important" and "have something to say" is not exactly an impartial and objective thing on that topic...I mean a 13 year old girl might think her thoughts are as important as ie Obama's or somebody, and who's to say otherwise, that teenager might be some freak or might be the next world famous genius, hard to say.

Read somewhere that when aliens find our long lost civilzation one day and they look through all the files, they'll find it strange that every person in the world thought he/she was important...it's funny but also kinda proves a point. 

Btw, concerning the lasting of Twitter, didn't one of the founders say on Colbert Report that they plan to charge for it later, when it gets enough of people hooked, or something similar? Only time will tell, sadly time knows how to keep secrets well beyond it's needed. 

[Buckethead]

Twitter reminds me of those things on facebook that suppose to show your status. I can hardly be bother to update those, so what would I do with a twitter account? I hardly see the need for this. It indeed might be good for famous people. Because I could talk to friends if I have something to say. But for famous people this is different. They can't hang out on msn.

[LGM]

I use twitter. http://www.twitter.com/aedmark

I think it's a fun way to keep in contact with friends. Less obtrusive than facebook. That, and I can stalk celebrities.

[Layabout]

How is it keeping in contact with your friends? It's a gen-y narcacissitic flogometer to make you feel like your worthless lives are worth telling the world about. They are not.

[Paper Carnival]

Btw, concerning the lasting of Twitter, didn't one of the founders say on Colbert Report that they plan to charge for it later, when it gets enough of people hooked, or something similar? Only time will tell, sadly time knows how to keep secrets well beyond it's needed. 

Who would want to pay for Twitter?

[Meowster]

Twitter is very useful as a source of news/information. I follow people who post interesting news items and share interesting bits and pieces from the internet. When I check my twitter once a day, I have about 20 posts to read, and usually they are all links to interesting articles or videos etc., with a short description as to what they are. I can provide instant feedback to news items or comments that others post, or vice versa. It is very useful and interesting when used right. I find that most people who dislike Twitter simply don't understand how best to use it, or haven't used it at all and assume it's just a simplified version of facebook.

There are people who update 20 times a day to say that they're eating a sandwich, but you just stop following them, problem solved.

Twitter is very useful and I think it's here to stay in one form or another. Maybe some other micro-blogging service will replace Twitter, but the idea behind it should stay, I think.

It's a gen-y narcacissitic flogometer to make you feel like your worthless lives are worth telling the world about. They are not.

It can be used in that way, yup. I have stopped following a few people who although I like them in real life, on Twitter they seem to think that everyone wants to know every mundane details of their lives. But as I said, when used right it's actually a very useful tool for keeping up-to-date with everything from political news to gaming news, or even just reading someones live-blogging of a GDC talk. When used in such a way, Twitter becomes awesome.

[Stupot]

They would not start charging for it now.
I am a bit surprised by the lack of advertising though.  That might change, but I'm sure they'd never start charging the users.

I have stopped following a few people who although I like them in real life, on Twitter they seem to think that everyone wants to know every mundane details of their lives.

Yeh, I'm going to quit following Jonathan Ross for the same reason.  I'm a fan of his, but he reports everything.

[voh]

Those who 'get' twitter do, and they use it. Those who don't, don't. And that's fine. There's no need to convince either side of the other side's POV. Hence why I'm disregarding the inevitable discussion.

I'm @rockvoh and I'll be adding some of yous.

Also, the 'paying' comment Biz Stone made referred to 'pro' accounts, whatever that means other than implied additional functionality. Regular twitter accounts, he said, would always be free.

[Meowster]

Those who 'get' twitter do, and they use it. Those who don't, don't. And that's fine. There's no need to convince either side of the other side's POV. Hence why I'm disregarding the inevitable discussion.

I'm @rockvoh and I'll be adding some of yous.

Also, the 'paying' comment Biz Stone made referred to 'pro' accounts, whatever that means other than implied additional functionality. Regular twitter accounts, he said, would always be free.

Nope, no need to convince anyone of anything, however it would be unfortunate if people didn't use a great free service just because they don't understand it or assume it's something other than it is. A lot of people misunderstand what Twitter is about. I assumed it was just like facebook status updates until I actually did some research and discovered the way in which it could be used, and I'm glad that I did.

[GarageGothic]

I still don't get the point of Twitter - beyond being haiku-blogging for readers with ADHD. Not even eloquent people like Neil Gaiman and Stephen Fry (who both write blogs that I follow with great pleasure) seem to be able to convey much of intelligence or interest within a 140 character limit. I understand that it's cool to be able to post updates from your cellphone, but is it really so urgent that you couldn't wait till you get home and can write a proper blog entry about it and provide further context, even just a headline (or perhaps realizing in the meantime that it wasn't worth sharing with the world)? By all means, keep your blog entries short if that's what you prefer, but why involve yet another service when we already have established means of distribution like RSS feeds?

Meowster, apparently you understand something about this phenomenon that I don't, so maybe you'd care to elaborate what exactly it was you discovered in your research?

[Anian]

Who would want to pay for Twitter?

Well for example to have a bigger bandwith, to not have ads (which might be there later), for some extra letters, for pics...I don't know, but they have to pay the servers somehow.


Facebook is another thing I don't really get, people I like to talk to I stay in touch with, that's it, why chat with some people you've met but don't really like them? Maybe to play games with friends, but there are other sites for that. Updating your status, wtf is the use of that? Unless it's something like "dying, need help" what is the point of that, call that person and ask him/her what they're doing...aaaa but you won't, because you don't really want to talk to them, thus completing the circle.
Again, I see the point if, for example, you're an artist and then post pics of your works on your facebook, 'cause then you get a wider market.
Btw FB is an excellent marketing tool - imagine people like what brands they wear, what music they listen too, food, drinks, cars etc. You have their age, location, job and education status, those informations are worth a lot of money, cause you can make very targeted product placement and advertising. That's mostly why FB stocks are so high.

As was already said, some bloggers have interesting things to tell and it's almost like you're reading their autobiography or memoirs, but a use for Twitter could be something like reporting from live events that aren't being noted in any other way...like if you stand nearby while some rock star is chatting with friends or you're in a helicopter above a volcano or something. Other than that, you have to ask yourself - do other people really want/need to know about this and will that interest them?
Oh, and maybe, if you perfect it, you can write stories and poems in Twitter, but few people actually do that.

[Layabout]

I understand twitter perfectly. I would rather read a full news story rather than getting the 140-word cliff notes version. Yeah sure, if say on the off chance, a terrorist act happens no where near where you live andpeople were constantly updating, I could see it having some interest to me.

It's purely a selfish desire to use a twitter. Twitter is a silly name as well. Why not just call it brainpoop? It would make more sense that way.

Gen-Y are the most self-centered generation in existence. They had to reevaluate the Narcissism index to accommodate the absolute selfishness of my generation. It sickens me really. The reason really for this is most people born in 1st world countries in the last 30 years have never had to deal with situations that previous generations have. Most families are well off enough that there is little struggle for psysiological and safety needs. Since they are satisfied in those areas and rarely have to deal with them, they are likely to desire a higher need for esteem and social interaction. They need to feel better about themselves and loved by others. Pure selfishness.

This is why 99% of the content on twitter is pure brainpoop.

Discussion over. Want to wank your self-esteem? Tell your useless friends about your useless boring life every 20 minutes. Use twitter. Or Facebook status updates.

Back in my day if we wanted to know about our friends and what they were doing, we wall use the telephone device.

I blame twitter for all the problems in the world. Every single one of them.  (if you don't get that, you are obviously used to people, I mean Gen-Y's blaming others for everything that goes wrong. It is never their fault)

[Andail]

Read somewhere that when aliens find our long lost civilzation one day and they look through all the files, they'll find it strange that every person in the world thought he/she was important...it's funny but also kinda proves a point. 

It's enough of a fun thought just to imagine the reactions of coming generations.

I mean, when we take part of the textual output of past generations, it is by lovely, handwritten letters, or passionate diaries with perfume and seals and whatnot.

When people in the future research on our culture, they'll stand before a flood of texted "whereu at??"
If anything is saved at all, that is.

[Stupot]

@Layabout - I don't think condensing news and updating our useless and boring lives are the only thing Twitter is used for.  When Meowster said it was 'useful as a source of news and information' she didn't mean that she reads the 140 word long synopses and doesn't bother with the rest.  I should imagine the people she follows provide links with their "tweets" which lead to articles, blog posts and websites that Meowster might never have otherwise found... what's so bad about that?

I think it all depends on who you follow.  It's not just about feeding our narcasism.  It's just another new way of communicating.  Grumpy people said similar things when the telephone was invented, as well as the internet and mobile phones... (what's wrong with good old pen, paper and a  courier on horseback?).  You're sounding like an old fart who feels like he's being left behind be modern technology.

[Buckethead]

I think twitter is cool if you are looking for links and info. But I'm ok with the stuff I bump into on the web myself. I don't really feel like using it.

[veryweirdguy]

I use twitter.

I think it's a fun way to keep in contact with friends. Less obtrusive than facebook. That, and I can stalk celebrities.

I agree! I enjoy using it, and definitely feel no need to cite is as an important document in my life.

If it's a fad, it's a fad. Until then, I will continue using it to find out who Johnathon Ross is playing tennis with.

www.twitter.com/veryweirdguy

[FSi++]

Mine is http://twitter.com/das_fsi, but it is mostly in Russian. And it's nowhere near being interesting.

[voh]

@Layabout - I don't think condensing news and updating our useless and boring lives are the only thing Twitter is used for.  When Meowster said it was 'useful as a source of news and information' she didn't mean that she reads the 140 word long synopses and doesn't bother with the rest.  I should imagine the people she follows provide links with their "tweets" which lead to articles, blog posts and websites that Meowster might never have otherwise found... what's so bad about that?

Twitter is fast becoming an alternative for RSS feeds. I follow NASA's twitter account, for example, which links to live interviews being done with the ISS crew, launch and landing footage and pretty pictures on a random interval. It's like my own small scifi nerd christmas

[Vince Twelve]

I quite enjoy using Twitter.  I want to give more frequent updates on the development of Resonance, but don't think most of the small "I'm working on a fun minigame!" updates are worth blog posts.  Twitter nicely fills that gap.  So, I've integrated it quite prominently into my new website design:

http://www.xiigames.com

My Twitter is

http://www.twitter.com/vincetwelve